What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[J Harker]

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. 1986. Tobe Hooper.

Oh deary me. It has its virtues i suppose but i do wish I'd picked something else as my 'in honour of' flick. I can't imagine there's many here that haven't seen this audience splitter but i can see why Arrow have had a job flogging this one.

[gag]

Originally Posted by J Harker

Martyrs. 2008. Pascal Laugier.

Proper grim French torture porn jobby from the director of the brilliant The Tall Man.
A young girl called Lucie is rescued, nearly naked and beaten beyond belief running through the streets. She claims to have been abducted and systematically tortured. When authorites inspect there are clear signs supporting her claims however no perpetrators are ever found.
Eventually Lucie is placed in a home for young women where she finds friendship with another damaged young girl Anna. During one of the films most terrifying sequences and if I'm being honest one of the few truly creepy scenes I've seen in a long time it is revealed Lucie is being stalked by a grotesque, sinister presence that is intent on mutilating her.
Fast forward 15 years and we move to the home of a nice seeming family. One morning over breakfast there is a knock at the door and a crazed woman with a shotgun proceeds to mercilessly gun down the whole family children and all. And from there it only gets madder and darker.
Much like Pascal Laugiers next feature, the Jessica Biel starrer 'The Tall Man' Martyrs is set out in a way one never really knows where its going. At least i didn't. The both films seem to stem from similar dark subject matter too, abuse.
Martyrs is a hard film to watch but almost impossible to take your eyes off and is one of those films that leaves you feeling a little guilty. Complacent almost. The performances are bloody superb across the board and i don't look forward to revisiting it. But i will.

Good film but I found it dragged on a bit and got a tadge boring and repetitive ..

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by gag

Good film but I found it dragged on a bit and got a tadge boring and repetitive ..

This won't happen often, but in this case i agree with you.

The Tall Man is a far superior effort in my opinion.

[J Harker]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

This won't happen often, but in this case i agree with you.

The Tall Man is a far superior effort in my opinion.

Dem agreeing with gag...?! Quick someone consult the stars or whatever, tis an omen!!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Cat and Mouse (1974)

Kirk Douglas stars in this dark drama about a biology teacher estranged from his wife and son. Walking away totally from his former life with only a case of biology instruments, he calls the police with a terrifying statement 'Tonight, i'm going to kill somebody'.

This British oddity set in Montreal captures that 70's grittiness that encapsulates films like Dirty Harry and The French Connection. Douglas is excellent. At first coming across like the cruel nickname of 'Mousy' that his students mock him with but spiraling deeper into despair and madness, culminating in some grim murder and stalking sequences that place the film in slasher territory.

Soundtrack fans should love the brilliantly realized, oh so creepy score by Ron Grainer.

[J Harker]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Cat and Mouse (1974)

Kirk Douglas stars in this dark drama about a biology teacher estranged from his wife and son. Walking away totally from his former life with only a case of biology instruments, he calls the police with a terrifying statement 'Tonight, i'm going to kill somebody'.

This British oddity set in Montreal captures that 70's grittiness that encapsulates films like Dirty Harry and The French Connection. Douglas is excellent. At first coming across like the cruel nickname of 'Mousy' that his students mock him with but spiraling deeper into despair and madness, culminating in some grim murder and stalking sequences that place the film in slasher territory.

Soundtrack fans should love the brilliantly realized, oh so creepy score by Ron Grainer.

Felt like an early DePalma to me Dem. Also reminded me of Scumachers Falling Down a little. Though maybe thats just the Douglas connection.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by J Harker

Felt like an early DePalma to me Dem. Also reminded me of Scumachers Falling Down a little. Though maybe thats just the Douglas connection.

Yeah, totally agree that it felt like it had influenced Falling Down.

There were so many similarities - A Douglas for one. A man on the edge of sanity trying desperately to catch up with his estranged child, the killing spree, not to mention the cracked lens in the glasses both characters wear.

[Susan Foreman]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

Now Damnation Alley methinks
Horribly stretched faded print ... budget release cough
Featuring one Jackie Earle Haley no less!!

That's another film I saw at the cinema when it was first released

1977 in Winchester - the ABC I think

All I remember about it now are the scenes with the giant scorpions and cockroaches!

[keirarts]

Death note

As someone who read the manga and has seen the Japanese films (not yet seen the anime) I was somewhat initially put off Death Note. There are some things retained which don't make sense outside Japan, such as the lead character being named light, which only really works when you consider how names are spelled using Kanji. There's also a love interest which at first seems somewhat inexplicable. However it throws in some neat touches. The love interest develops in an interesting way with a nice payoff and Willem Dafoe voicing Ryuck the shinagami is excellent. If your a Death Note fan already then this is probably going to annoy you. If your unfamiliar with the franchise then you may actually like it more. For me it ranks as an admirable failure. Bare in mind I'm one of the few people who actually liked Adam Wingards Blair Witch.

[SymbioticFunction]

Originally Posted by J Harker

Martyrs. 2008. Pascal Laugier.

Proper grim French torture porn jobby from the director of the brilliant The Tall Man.
A young girl called Lucie is rescued, nearly naked and beaten beyond belief running through the streets. She claims to have been abducted and systematically tortured. When authorites inspect there are clear signs supporting her claims however no perpetrators are ever found.
Eventually Lucie is placed in a home for young women where she finds friendship with another damaged young girl Anna. During one of the films most terrifying sequences and if I'm being honest one of the few truly creepy scenes I've seen in a long time it is revealed Lucie is being stalked by a grotesque, sinister presence that is intent on mutilating her.
Fast forward 15 years and we move to the home of a nice seeming family. One morning over breakfast there is a knock at the door and a crazed woman with a shotgun proceeds to mercilessly gun down the whole family children and all. And from there it only gets madder and darker.
Much like Pascal Laugiers next feature, the Jessica Biel starrer 'The Tall Man' Martyrs is set out in a way one never really knows where its going. At least i didn't. The both films seem to stem from similar dark subject matter too, abuse.
Martyrs is a hard film to watch but almost impossible to take your eyes off and is one of those films that leaves you feeling a little guilty. Complacent almost. The performances are bloody superb across the board and i don't look forward to revisiting it. But i will.

I ended up selling this off as my wife was adamant that she would never ever watch it again. She didn't enjoy it very much. Nowadays I actually get some viewing time to myself on Sunday afternoons, whilst the missus is at work, so perhaps I should have kept it.